Spinning toys



Oct. 23, 1956 A, E HARTMAN 2,767,514

SPINNING TOYS Filed May 19, 1954 United Staes Patent SPINNING TUYSAlbert E. Hartman, Washington, Kans.

Application May 19, 1954, Serial No. 430,824

1 Claim. (Cl. i6-71) This invention relates to new and usefulimprovements and structural refinements in spinning toys, also commonlyknown as tops, and the principal object of the invention is to provide atoy of this nature having a novel arrangement of parts including areplaceable inertia head which may be quickly and easily removed forsubstitution by another.

Specifically, the invention concerns itself with a toy including a frameor yoke which functions as a handle for a rotatable spindle, one end ofthe latter being provided with a carrier in the form of a resilientclamp which is adapted to removably receive therein an inertia head,such as for example, a conventional can of shoe polish, the spindle alsohaving a pull string wound thereon whereby rotation may be impartedthereto and to the associated head. As such, the invention readily lendsitself to use with various different containers or other conventionalarticles as inertia heads and, by the same token, although notnecessarily so, the invention may be used as a premiums to promote thesale of any such articles or products in the containers with which theinvention is used.

Another feature of the invention resides in the provision of a fulcrummember on lthe spindle whereby the same, together with the associatedyoke and inertia head may be rotatably supported upon a surface andpermitted to spin freely thereon after the pull string has beenactuated.

Other features of the invention reside in its simplicity ofconstruction, convenient and entertaining operation, and in itsadaptability to economical manufacture.

With the above more important objects and features in view and suchother objects and features as may become apparent as this specificationproceeds, the invention resides in the arrangement of parts and detailsof construction as shown in the accompanying drawing wherein likecharacters of reference are used to designate like parts and wherein:

Figure l is an elevational view of the invention;

Figure 2 is an edge view thereof, the inertia head being shown by dottedlines;

Figure 3 is a lower end View of the invention; and

Figure 4 is a perspective view of the carrier used therein.

With reference now to the accompanying drawing in detail, the spinningtoy is designated generally by the numeral 1) and embodies in itsconstruction a yoke or frame 12 which functions as a handle and consistsof a pair of side pieces 14 connected at their upper and lower ends to apair of axially aligned bearings 16, 18.

A shaft or spindle 20 is freely rotatable in the bearings` 16, 1S andprojects at both ends therefrom, the lower end of the spindle beingprovided with a substantially spherical fulcrum member 22.

RCC

The upper end of the spindle has secured thereto a carrier 24 which isin the form of a clamp having an elongated intermediate portion 26provided at the underside thereof with an apertured boss 28 forattachment to the spindle.

An inertia head 30 of a disc-shaped configuration is removablypositioned in the carrier 24, this being attained by engaging a pair ofresilient end portions 32 of the carrier with a peripheral flange 34with which the head 3@ is equipped. For all practical purposes the head30 may assume the form of a can of shoe polish, or the like, and it willbe apparent from the foregoing that various other articles of a similarconguration may be selectively employed by substituting one for another.As is best shown in Figure 4, the end portions 32 of the carrier arepreferably of an arcuate form, so that they are complemental to thecontour of the head 30 and flange 34.

A pull cord 36 is wound around the spindle 20 as shown in Figure l sothat by holding the yoke 12 and smartly pulling the cord 36, rapidrotation may be imparted to the spindle as well as the carrier 24 andhead 30. When the cord is unwound from the spindle and the device isstill in motion, it may be deposited in an upright position on a flooror some other supporting surface and the yoke 12, no longer heldstationary, will gradually commence to spin until it eventually attainsthe speed of rotation of the spindle with the associated carrier andinertia head. In this respect, of course, the spherical member 22 willfunction as the fulcrum for the spinning action of the entire device.

While in the foregoing there has been shown and described the preferredembodiment of the invention, various modifications may become apparentto those skilled in the art to which the invention pertains.Accordingly, it is not desired to limit the Vscope of the invention tothe foregoing disclosure and various changes and modifications may beresorted to such as may lie within the spirit and scope of the appendedclaim.

What is claimed as new is:

A spinning toy comprising in combination, a yoke affording a handle andconsisting of a pair of strap-shaped arcuate side members disposed incoplanar relation, a pair of coaxial bearings provided integrally at theends of said side members, a spindle rotatably mounted in said bearingsand projecting at both ends from said yoke, a pull cord wound around theintermediate portion of said spindle in said yoke for imparting rotationto the spindle, a spherical fulcrum member provided on one end of thespindle whereby the same and the associated yoke may be sustained in aspinning position on a supporting surface, a carrier secured to theother end of said spindle and including a iiat, continuous intermediatestrap portion extending in opposite directions from said spindle ard apair of resilient clamp portions at the ends of said intermediate strapportion, and a disc-shaped circular head removably positioned in saidcarrier, said head having a flat bottom in supportable engagement withthe flat intermediate portion of the carrier and a flanged perimetricWall frictionally engaged by said resilient clamp portions, said clampportions being arcuate complementally to the perimetric wall of saidhead.

Boyer et al Nov. 2, 1897 Little July 8, 1924

